Oil burning heater for tobacco barns



April 24, 1956 LOVE ET AL 2,742,894

OIL BURNING HEATER FOR TOBACCO BARNS Filed April 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheetl INVENTORS z/asqv/rfl [are @W Marl/e15- i. [are ATTORNEYS April 24,1956 J LOVE ETAL 2,742,894

OIL BURNING HEATER FOR TOBACCO BARNS Filed April 28, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet2 l NVE N TOR3 Jase [36. law "W fiadezs 6.10m

ATTORNEYS g V 2,742,894 on. BURNING HEATER non TOBACCO. BARNSJosephCabel L'oveandi Chalmers Glenn Love, Kenbridge, vs.

Application April zs, I1953,-=Serial No. 351,534 2 Claims. cl; 126 9;3)

This invention relates to an oil 'burningheater, particularly designedfor heatingtobacco barns in. the .flue curingof'tobacco, althoughobviously it is applicable mother uses:

One of'the objects of the invention is to provide a heater of the typeindicated, equipped witha door, the opening of which releases themovable parts of the heater Uni d States Parent- 2,742,894 7 Pateiited.Apr. .24, 1956 the casing are joined together. The-flanges 7 and 8, as

shown, terminate a short distance-from the front of the said "upper partis closed at the front by means of a semi circular door 15, having asemicircumferential channel 16 at its rear, which freely hooks over theflange 14. The door has a forwardly projecting handle .17 and is removed,by grasping the handle and raising the door vertically so as to clearthe flange 14.

p The lower part 18 of the casing'is provided withan integralsemicircular front end 19 which. is in the same vertical plane as thedoor 15. Said door and the front end 19 are'formedwith matchingsemicircular recesses which from time to time require servicing, sothatthese partscan readily be removed without theuse of tools.

' Another object of theinvention is to provide an oil heater asdescribed, in, which. the mouth of the main. air duct verticallyoverlies the oil distributor and vaporizor element of the burner, theinlet end. of said duct extending through the front of the heateroutside ofthe barn, so that there is no back pressure as in the casewhere air is derivedfrom within a barnhaving inadequate openingsto'atmosphere, resulting in improved combustion.

A further object of the invention is to providea massive burner.comprising a. bowl component and an oil dis tributor and vaporizorfitting said bowl component, there being means for providing an annularstarting flame circumferentially of said burner in contact therewith inan intermediate zone, for heatingthe burner to change the liquid oilsupplied thereto to vapor which'is burned at the periphery of the oildistributor and vaporizor and beneath themouth of the air intake duct.

Still: another object of .the invention is to provide an oil overflow atthe forwardendof: the casinggof' the heater, and a dam across saidcasingmearwardlyyof'the burner, extending to a higher levelthan saidoverflow, to preventoverflowingoil from running into the conduit for theefliuent products of combustion where it would be 7 a definite firehazard. 1

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the followingspecification, and throughout the figures of which the same referencecharacters have been used to denote identical parts:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an oil burning heater embodying theprinciples of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front end view; I

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the heater, alongthe line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4-4 ofFigure 3, viewed in the direction of the arrows; I

Figure 5 is a diametrical cross-section taken along the line 5-5 ofFigure 3.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral 1 representsthe cylindrical body or casingof the heater, which is horizontallydisposed. Said casing is supported between the bifurcations 2 and 3 offront and rear supports 4 and 5, formingparts of the integral base 6.

The casing 1 is divided in a horizontal axial plane. Each half has theoutwardly extending flanges 7 and 8 secured together by bolts 9, throughwhich the halves of 20 and 21 which together form a circular hole 22.(see Figure 2). The meeting edges of the front end and door, includingthe periphery of the semicircular recesses 20 and 21 are faced byoutwardlyextending strengthening flanges 23 and 24.' i

The lower .part 18 of the ca'singll is integrally formed with themassive bowl component 25'of the burner, which is formedwith acylindrical oillpreheatingchamber 26, to which oil is supplied throughthe conduit"27.' Above thechamber 26 thebowl component 25is providedwith ,an expanded'vaporizing chamber 28. Above said vaporizing chambersaid bowl component is formed with a bowl of frusto-conical shape, theflared walls 3001f which form a seat for a. freely insertedoildistributor and vaporizor 31, having a series of circumferentialgrooves32 formed in its outer periphery, communicating with thevaporizing chamber 28 at one'end, and with the general chamber of thecasing 1 at their. upper ends. The oil distributor and vaporizor has acentrallylo-cated upstanding tit 33, which as shown, is of squarecross-section.

A ,capacious air inlet duct 34 of-elbow shape has its outer end35passing through the hole22in the front of the casing, and isprovidedwithia cross bar 36 at its inner end,'having a central recess37'ofcomplementary shape to the end of the'tit33, which receives the titso that the weight of the air inlet duct holds the oil distributor andvaporizor in place and the oil distributor and vaporizor including thetit, allocates and secures the air inlet duct.

The conduit 27 extends between the front bifurcations 2 and 3 of thebase, parallel to and in adjacency to the lower part 18 of the casing,so that when the latter becomes heated, heat is imparted to the conduit27 by radiation as well as by conduction directly from the bowlcomponent 25, so that the oil in the conduit 27 is preheated. In orderfor the oil to acquire as much heat as possible, the conduit 27 is ofrelatively large diameter so as to retard the velocity of the oilpassing through said conduit. A smaller pipe 38 leading from an oilsupply, not shown, and provided with a cut-off valve 39, is connected tothe conduit 27.

The bowl component 25 is provided with a stepped annular lower portion40, having a channel 41 in its upper face, containing an annularasbestos wick 42. The front end 19 of the lower part 18 of the casing isprovided with an overflow pipe 43 as a somewhat lower level than thechannel 41, said overflow pipe leading to a suitable sump, not shown,provided-with means, not shown, such as a float controlled pump, whichreturns the overflow from the sump to the oil supply. The front end 19is also provided with a series of auxiliary air inlet openings 44,communicating with atmosphere. 1

The lower part 18 of the casing, at a point rearward of the burner, isprovided with an' integral darn 45 extending thereacross, having ahorizontal top edge which is at a higher level than the overflow pipe43.

The operation of the heater is as follows. With the parts in theposition shown in Figure 3, the cut-off valve 39 is opened and oilsupplied to the burner which passes through the groove 32 of the oildistributor and vaporizor and flows into the channel 41, saturating thewick 42.

Any excess oil overflows into the bottom of the lower part of the casing18, and is discharged through the overflow pipe 43. The burner is lit byremoving the door 15 and applying a match to the asbestos wick 42.Presently the bowl component 25 becomes sufiiciently heated to vaporizethe oil in the chamber 28 and grooves 32, the oil vapor being ignited bythe lit asbestos wick. Air to support combustion is drawn in through theair inlet duct 34 and through the auxiliary air inlets 44. The downdraft of air upon the top of the oil distributor and vaporizor spreadsthe flames out into the general chamber of the casing, producing intenseand complete combustion. Since the air through the duct 34 is drawn fromatmos phere outside the barn, it will not be subject to back pressure,as would be the case if it were drawn from the barn atmosphere, a morefree flow of air being thus assured, with improved combustion. The dam4S precludes the possibility of any of the overflow oil at time ofstarting entering the heat conduit 12 and thus producing a fire hazardwithin the barn.

It is frequently necessary to service the parts of oil heaters which areassociated with the burner and air inlet passages, for the removal ofsoot. This is readily accomplished in the present construction withoutthe use of tools. It is simply necessary to remove the door 15; then theair inlet duct 34 can be lifted from the oil distributor and vaporizorand removed through the door opening and the oil distributor andvaporizor can be lifted out by taking hold of the tit 33. When the partsare reassembled, the air inlet duct remains firmly in place, even whenthe door is removed, since it fits the recess 21 in the front end 19,and the interdigitating tit 33 and recess 37 form a sticking taper. Inthe servicing of the burner it is sometimes necessary to clear theinterface between the oil distributor and vaporizor and the bowlcompartment 25. This is done by rotating the oil distributor andvaporizor against its seat in the component 25, which is readilyaccomplished by grasping the square tit 33.

While we have in the above description disclosed a practical embodimentof the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatthe specific details of construction and arrangement of parts, as shown,are by way of example and not to be construed as limiting the scope ofthe invention.

What we claim is:

1. An oil burning heater comprising a casing constituting a horizontallyextending combustion chamber, a clo sure at one end, the opposite endhaving an opening adapted for connection to a discharge flue, saidclosure being divided horizontally into upper and lower parts, the lowerpart being fixed and the upper part being a removable door, said doorand said lower part being formed with the matching halves of a circularhole and with matching flanges bordering said hole extending outwardlytherefrom, a burner within said casing comprising a body having acircular chamber with an upwardly flaring conical surrounding wallopening in the upper face of said body and being connected to a sourceof liquid fuel, a removable oil distributor and vaporizor having aperipheral seating wall of a shape complementary to said flared wall andseated upon said flared wall, an elbow shaped air duct freely mounted insaid casing having a horizontal limb extending slidably between saidmatching flanges in gas tight engagement therewith, said air duct havinga vertical limb overlying said oil distributor and vaporizor and havinga cross bar at its inner end, said cross bar and oil distributor andvaporizor being formed with freely separable snugly interfitting meansaligning said oil distributor and vaporizor coaxially with said verticallimb and supporting the latter, the horizontal limb of said air ductbeing supported by the fixed part of said closure and held in positionby said door.

2. An oil burning heater as claimed in claim 1, said casing and door atthe top being provided with freely interhooked flanges for detachablysecuring said door in closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS387,927 Smith Aug. 14, 1881 1,447,385 Hardinge Mar. 6, 1923 1,639,518Long Aug. 16, 1927 1,679,633 Six Aug. 7, 1928 2,453,233 Kittrell Nov. 9,1948 2,512,964 Peterson June 27, 1950 2,547,841 Strickland Apr. 3, 19512,547,842 Duncan Apr. 3, 1951 2,561,799 Johnson July 24, 1951 2,663,364Dowless Dec. 22, 1953

